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MEDLIN Johnny R From: KOLB Randy C Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 4:09 PM To: MEDLIN Johnny R Subject: RE: New Website Another idea, and then I'll stop bugging you, would be to replace the small "brick" graphic on the POS main page with a larger brick or some photos. I think you could add quite a bit of visual appeal by doing things like that. rk - - - -- Original Message---- - From: MEDLIN Johnny R Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 2:10 PM To: KOLB Randy C Cc: MCVEY Fred; BLANCHARD Bob C; *Eugene PW POS Mgmt Team; SHUM Peter C Subject: RE: New Website Hi Randy, Well I guess what is "attractive" or "bland" or "easy to read" is in the eye of the beholder. Your below statement is consistent with comments you have made to me in earlier conversations. Of course we say one of our strengths as an organization is respecting diversity of opinion. I respect your opinoin, I just don't agree with it. While most of the services the City delivers may not be that visually oriented, Parks and Open Space is a VERY visual and esthetically oriented service. It is this visual connection that is at the heart of our service that I think is missing here. It is my belief that our park patrons would agree with me. I too look forward to working with you to improve our site. In specific, I will be looking for opportunities to restore this visual connection between our web site and the service that we provide. Thanks Johnny - - - -- Original Message---- - From: KOLB Randy C Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 1:55 PM To: MEDLIN Johnny R Cc: MCVEY Fred; BLANCHARD Bob C; *Eugene PW POS Mgmt Team; SHUM Peter C Subject: RE: New Website Johnny, I'm sorry to hear that you are disappointed in the new site. I have gotten positive feedback about it and I find that it is both attractive and easy to use. I think that part of the issue is that the Internet, and municipal web sites, are evolving. Our site is not a billboard for Eugene, it is a source of information and services. Using our site the citizens can access vast amounts of data about the city. They can sign up for recreation classes, renew books, pay court fines, apply for a job and more. The key to a site is how easy it is to access the data and services. For instance, by using more text and less graphics we reduce the number of "clicks" that it takes to get to the information and services. Along with content and services, that is what defines a good site. The most visited pages on the city web site are ones that are rich with content and services, not the one with pictures and graphics. We plan on adding many more services to the site along with a My Neighborhood component that will tailor the site to individual neighborhoods. The parks will be an important element of the My Neighborhood feature. We also plan on adding interactive features so that the citizens can learn more about comment on city projects and provide input. That should also involve POS. For many years the City of Seattle has been the national leader and award winner for municipal web sites. They have recently re -built their site. Check it out. www.seattle.gov I think our site compares well to theirs and that we do a better job of helping the citizen, for instance, locate a park.